Essays Critical and Historical Volume 1
John Henry Newman
John Henry Newman’s Essays Critical and Historical are articles he originally wrote between 1829 and 1846 and later collected together and republished in 1871. In them Newman deals with some of the key theological
issues of his day. They show both the consistency of his theological principles and
the trajectory of their development during the Oxford Movement. The essays are more
combative than his title suggests—Newman engages with his subjects with vigour, forensic
skill, wit, and even satire. We can also detect the approaching
crisis of his Anglican
belief and his conversion to the Catholic Church in 1845. Many of Newman’s insights
have turned out to be prophetic about the controversies of 20th and 21st century
Christianity.
This is the first critical edition of this work. The Editor has provided an Introduction setting each essay in its
context and giving a critical analysis of it. There are also detailed Editor’s Notes
to the text, explaining
the theological, literary and historical references which
are often obscure to the modern reader. A comprehensive
Textual Appendix reveals for the first time how radically Newman revised some of the essays for his 1871 edition
978 085244 457 3 700 pages £35.00hb